


Dean Z

by KassieProphet



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Timeline, But he's going to be in over his head, Castiel isn't in this fic, F/M, Homophobia, Implied Sexual Content, John Winchester's A+ Parenting, M/M, Once he raises Dean, Openly Bisexual Dean Winchester, pre-destiel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2018-09-22
Packaged: 2019-07-15 09:19:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16060130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KassieProphet/pseuds/KassieProphet
Summary: Pre-Supernatural FicletDean, born in 1995, is Gen Z. He grows up in a digital world: The aughts vs the 80s. Cell phones instead of pay phones. The Internet instead of microfiche. Satellite TV instead of analog. How do those kind of differences intrinsically change the way a person develops?





	Dean Z

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [What if Dean was (openly) bisexual, smoked, and had full sleeve tattoos of protective symbols and monsters he killed?](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/419003) by dakotaaaa.tumblr.com. 



Gen Z Dean was born in 1995. Raised on satellite cable and digital TV once it switched from analog. Grunge was still a thing and straight boys wore skirts. In addition to the classic rock of his dad’s cassette tapes, he had mix CDs—from the girls and boys striving for his favor—of Rob Zombie, NIN, Manson, Resputina, & Hole that he listened to on his cheap CD walkman that skipped every time the Impala hit a bump. Most of his high schools had SAGA clubs.

* * *

 

Dean was 12 when Apple released it’s iPhone and 13 when he stole his first one. Sammy showed him how to set up, and Dean’s worldview exploded. By 16 everyone in his small family had one.

When he killed his first monster, he gave himself a tattoo—just a line tick on his hip. He used the technique he first saw in the backroom of a hunter shop when he wandered in there, too bored to stand by his dad’s side as John haggled with the owner. He had 5 by the time he looked old enough to hustle pool.

Dean drew on his skin when bored in class. Sigils he learned, monsters he’d seen—he’s not half bad. Sammy said he should just get a tattoo already instead of reinking them every time they washed off. So he did. John wasn’t too thrilled—he only has the one tattoo and that he got in the service with his platoon—but he quieted when he saw the absolutely gorgeous one of Mary on Dean’s shoulder.

There were still lean times. Times when John’s gone too long and leaves too little money. Dean always beat himself up—how much food could he have bought Sammy if he just hadn’t blown $200 on his latest tatt? Sammy always told him not to: “It’s dad’s fault, not yours, Dee. You’re allowed to have something for yourself.” It was hard with the CCTV now everywhere, but Dean managed to not let them starve at least.

Sammy was precocious. His young mind more of sponge than Dean’s pubescent one. He thrived in programming and at 12 pretty much ran their operation off a tablet. He grew his hair long and announced to John and Dean that he was a “genderfluid pansexual.” Sam still got away with things in a way Dean never could, so John just bitched about how kids these days are too coddled and need to be special snowflakes.

Later, Dean asked Sammy if he really believed all that shit and Sam had just shrugged and replied, “Maybe, maybe not. But I bet ‘bisexual’ will sound less scary now.”

Dean didn’t “come out” at school—he’s never in one place long enough for the big reveal—but he flirted with anyone hot enough to catch his attention. Amanda Heckerling found Dean making out with Jake Moran.

Sometimes John was a bastard: drilling Dean & Sam (Dean especially), punishing Dean to “keep him line”, and coming home drunk as all get out and taking it out on  ~~the boys~~ Dean. Those times Dean left to find a willing body and didn’t come back til the next day (always for Sammy). Other times John praised Dean’s technique and told the boys old stories of his platoon buddies (before John went mad with grief and took them all off the grid). One time after a particularly hard kill, John gave Dean (then 16) a beer; they both sat on beach chairs that were in the “borrowed” truck, and drank lukewarm Coors while covered in monster guts. Sam, who had orders to stay away from the fight, tried to weasel a beer out of John too, but John put his foot down saying if Sam was too young to fight, he was too young to drink. Dean snuck Sam sips when he thought John wasn’t looking (he was).

* * *

Maybe Dean is getting lazy, or maybe Dean is just all out of fucks, but at 19 John catches him in bed with a guy. There is yelling and screaming; slurs and harsh words. It comes down to John telling Dean to lock it down or to get out.

Now, this Dean has been FED. He’s had late-night cable TV, any kind of dating app you could want, and Sammy’s barrage of helpful links—the whole internet at his fingertips. He’s had LBGTQI school clubs and 24/7 access to helplines. Bobby is on his speed dial and that man sleeps with his bluetooth in.

This Dean gets up in John’s face. Yeah, he’s scared of John—always will be—and if John fights him, Dean still won’t punch back…but Dean isn’t going to back down. He’s bisexual and sometimes he fucks dudes:  **The End**. So he starts screaming back. If John can accept wendigos and vampires, then he sure as fuck can accept Dean’s sexuality. John tells him he can’t, that Dean has to leave. Dean’s breaking on the inside, but he’s had years of playing it cool at school and for authority figures. So he just shrugs and starts packing his and Sam’s things.

Not the way John had thought this would play out. Dean has always followed his orders—John hadn’t expected Dean to grow a pair. But John Winchester is a stubborn bastard and he’s not about to swallow his pride—that is until he realizes Dean is taking Sam too. They get into it, but Dean stands his ground. “I’m 19, dad. You had me emancipated at 16 so I could earn more money and fast track my GED. You want to fight me on this? Who do you think Child Services is going to side with? An alcoholic drifter who can’t hold down a job? Or the legal big brother who’s always taken care of him?” Dean may not be able to punch his dad, but he can still hit him where it hurts.

John loses his wind. Dean knows he’s got him, and it sucks. Dean leaving: OK. Sammy leaving: Not OK. But he’s got John right where he wants him, and John knows it. He looks up at Dean in resignation, “But what will the other hunters say?”

Dean just snorts. “They’ll think I’m a bad-ass motherfucker who kills monsters and sometimes likes cock. And if they have a problem with it, I’ll show their flabby, middle-aged asses that it takes a man to take dick.”

John winces through it all.

“Besides, you hate those fucks. Aren’t you always telling us not to trust or rely on other hunters? So some guys you can barely stand call me some names. Who gives a shit, Dad.”

“I do, Dean. It’ll reflect poorly on me.”

Dean just shrugs again. “Like I said, I’ll just kick their asses. And if other hunters ask what happened you can tell them your  _fag_  son gave a demonstration on what a  _real_  hunter can do.” Dean gives his dad his best shit-eating smirk. “You know, thanks to your years of training.”

“You’re a cocky sonuvabitch, Dean. Awful confident you can put your money where you mouth is. This is my reputation at stake.”

Dean smiles dangerously. “Dad, I’ve been out for years. You don’t think I’ve been taking down punk-ass shits in every town? You should’ve seen the last 3 jocks that tried to pull that macho posturing crap on me. The coach had to bench them for 3 games.”

* * *

John wasn’t happy. In fact, he barely spoke to Dean beyond cursory words for years. It only fueled Sam’s drive to Standford—Sam hated that now the brunt of John’s attention was on him; hated the way John treated Dean; was exasperated at Dean for staying.

And yeah, a lot of the older hunters didn’t take well to it, though Dean never had to make good on his promise—there were enough younger hunters who didn’t give a fuck as long as Dean could do his job (and some who had enthusiastically courted his attention) and hunters with enough sense not to piss off batshit John Winchester for insulting his son. Because as disappointed as John might be, Dean is family and no one maligns his son and gets away with it unscathed. Maybe Dean never had to make good on his promise because John made good on it for him.

By the time John disappears and Dean goes to look for Sam, Dean has slept with half the women hunters and a good third of the male ones (it’s a nice way to close off a successful hunt); he’s covered in tattoos—full sleeves, most of his back, and up his neck; and these days he only does milestone counts of his kills—they’re all in roman numerals down his right side.

He lights his clove in Sam & Jess’s living room and blows the smoke out his mouth—to the side because he’s classy.

“Dad’s on a hunting trip and he hasn’t been home in a few days.”


End file.
